TheBounce Pod

Ben Karpinski brings you closer to the world of sports through his daily feature on The Gareth Cliff Show. Come for the colourful current affairs, stay for the unique insights and interviews of sports people adding so much to our everyday sporting landscapes.

It’s that time of year, when the Currie Cup becomes a thing again. Some exciting semis to enjoy here, plus the Telkom Knockout from a local footballing perspective. Does tennis need on-court coaching, and what is happening in the world of golf?

The Mzansi Super League teams have been named, and now they have players too. Ben runs through them all, plus adds a couple of other sporting stories for good measure around Arsene Wenger and Floyd Mayweather.

Bafana go full Bafana in their return AFCON qualifier against Seychelles. Caster Semenya could lose almost all of 2019 due to the testosterone level ruling by the IAAF. Then a general wrap of the latest sport – from Usain Bolt getting drug tested, the F1 season dying out, and the MSL… all about the MSL.

Take two in South Africa’s version of a superstar T20 league. It’s called the Mzansi Super League, and if the team names and logos are anything to go by, expectations are pretty low. A shake up on the cards money-wise for the Boks, Amla to miss the Aussie ODI tour, and Duane Vermeulen to soon be announced as a Bull.

Ben said this past weekend was worth taking off on a sporting note, and he was right. But being the professional that he is, he still recaps on all the happenings so that you miss nothing going into the week.

There really is nothing too significant happening in the sport this weekend, so Ben tells you to take it off and do other things. From reigniting some romance with your partner, to showing interest in your children, give the sport a miss and focus on those things rather for a change.

Luca Modric was named The Best by FIFA, now for the journalists of the Ball’on d’Or to decide who is the best footballer in the world. More in the aftermath of the Nurmagomedov/McGregor fight, and most importantly the Russian’s next fight – which he simply won’t win.

The Boks almost played the perfect game against the All Blacks, but almost is never good enough against the best in the world. Conor McGregor’s big fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov ends in absolute chaos, a wrap up of the weekend’s football, and another rape allegation against Ronaldo.

The Boks vs All Blacks tops the sporting bill this weekend naturally, with Ben running through the two teams and the threats they pose. Nike seem worried about Ronaldo’s rape case, the big football fixtures for the weekend, McGregor’s last big fight, who the Fancy Beers are, and Lance Armstrong’s whistleblower wants to start his own cycling team.

The biggest stars in the Champions League shine on a night full of goals. The Proteas beat Zimbabwe on a dodgy pitch, Kanye West wants Colin Kaepernick to meet with Donald Trump, and Ronaldo tweets about the rape case. Golf to glitter at the 2018 Alfred Dunhill Links Championships, and Japan’s World Cup win over the Boks being made into a movie.